Month: July 2014

I was picking some greens at the CT4MB garden when Mike, of next-door Colonial Nursery NJ, came over with a bunch of freshly cut, eager-to-please basil. With his engaging smile and an offering I could hardly refuse, it looked to me a bouquet of flowers. Simple pleasures.

So back to the question – when gifted with basil, what to do? The first thing that comes to mind is presto! pesto – an easy way out to an elaborate preparation of a meal which I almost always am inclined to do these days.

Looking forward to a long, lazy weekend, a simmering one at that. I’m feeling … breakfast, slow, leisurely, and satiating. What comes to mind? Les oeufs en cocotte. Simple and easy. Very much a French dish, coddled eggs baked in ramekins.

1. We can add any combination of the following – caramelized onions, minced herbs, shredded cheese, chopped mushrooms – at the bottom, after buttering, the ramekins.

2. Go a little fancy and add a few drops of truffle oil before baking; or go all the way fancy, add a sliver or two of truffles.

3. http://www.cordonbleu.edu/news/easter-2014-recipe/en

I choose to go simple and elegant, and savour the sunny runny yolk. And that crusty buttered bread. I choose to go back to my childhood, Saturdays with my Papa, preparing his version of what I now know as les oeufs en cocotte. Misty-eyed.